


And Hell Was Following With Him

by Mnemo_ink



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Apocalypse waking at a different time, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, References to Depression, horseman charles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 13:33:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20258908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mnemo_ink/pseuds/Mnemo_ink
Summary: 1962On the eve of the battle of Cuba, Charles is left alone in the kitchen, thinking about his sister's angry words. But Apocalypse is awake and is coming for him.





	And Hell Was Following With Him

Raven is his oldest friend and yet the simple act of talking has become so difficult. Words are exchanged, but more and more often he can't figure out what she is trying to say. He fakes control and knowledge, not wanting her to think he can't take care of her anymore, protect her. She doesn't seem to see through it, yet the situation keeps getting worse. She left with an accusation hanging and he can't even deny it. Why shouldn't he want to be part of the world? To live and love and have something to exist for? Isn't it what all humans fight for?

Something broke just now. Something he thought would stand anything. He doesn't understand what went wrong. Isn't sure if this can be fixed.

_I used to think it's gonna be you and me against the world._

He thinks that too. Why the past tense? He feels guilty and cold from the feelings Raven was radiating -no need to read her mind, it was projected so sharply-. But he doesn't _understand_.

“_Charles_…”

A deep voice reaching out to him. And it’s so strange, so new. No one ever reached out to him telepathically cause no one ever asked how.

_Cause no one ever wanted to_. Says his bitterness.

He pulls down his shields and lets his power spread. And he feels it. Two mutants coming closer to the house, their spirits an unmistakable light. He is already out of the mansion and going toward them without realizing it.

The one who talked to him is old and powerful, an impressive mystery, fascinating and daunting. He can’t read him right now, but the possibility is there like an unspoken invitation. If he truly wants to, if he pushes...

_Come to me and you’ll see. You’ll be free._

Yet it’s the other mind that has him walking as if under a spell. Her name is Irene and she sees the future. She’s showing him his. Hot sand and blood, poison in his mind and in his veins. And loneliness, never ending. The months, years, believing they’ll come back. His sister, his lover.

They never would.

_"You see, Charles."  
_

_"Yes..."_

They are going to abandon him. He had feared that, many times. Yet he’d never thought someone he loved would leave him wounded and in danger.

_"Even after tomorrow, you’d have continued to believe in them. I’ve come to save you from this pain. They don’t deserve your hope." _

En Sabah Nur holds his hand towards him. Years of pain are seeping into his mind, making it hard to breathe. He feels numb from all the alcohol he hasn't drunk yet. Despair drowns him as he sees himself fixing a calm mask on his face, hiding all the emotions behind the professor. He is in Cuba, and in a hospital and on the floor of his room and everywhere is the same darkness enveloping him. 

_"They would leave you trapped in a cell in your own mind, but I’m going to free you."_

_"Why?"_

Why does he care when the ones he had let into his heart wouldn't?_  
_

_"Because I’ve never felt anyone like you."_

They are questions he should ask, but the words fail him in the coldness that seized him. He tries to remember, to pull himself out of the visions and back in the present. There was something he had to do… He has to… He could change things, he could…

En Sabah Nur’s hand is as warm as he knew it’d be.

—

The front door is wide opened with no trace of Charles. Erik doesn’t panic. He knows his deadly focus is scaring the others. He doesn't have time to care.

Then there’s the phone call. Shaw’s dead body was found on the CIA doorsteps. Mission cancelled.

If Shaw doesn’t have Charles then… Where is he?

He battles his frustration and his growing terror and starts searching.

Moira finally agrees to let him talk to Emma Frost to strike a deal. She didn't have the actual authorization of her higher-ups, but it doesn't matter once the telepath is free to change their minds. To go against her principle shows Moira gets it, the danger lurking before them. He gains respect for her.

They find Angel two weeks later. She tells them how Shaw suddenly froze and died what seemed to be an eternity later, his face a grotesque mask of agony. How they panicked and searched the submarine for enemies, with no result. How Azazel teleported with the body without wanting to, like a puppet.

Raven protests with all the fire Erik always guessed was hiding in her. Alex and Sean join in. Without Cerebro, reminds Hank, it should be impossible. Emma simply confirms Angel is telling the truth, standing with a studied detachment too exaggerated to hide her worry. 

Erik stays silent and focused. And afraid.

—

Erik doesn’t find Charles until the end of the world. And when he does, he remembers how to cry.


End file.
